Good vs. Evil Halloween Candy

Healthy Sweets?

If sugar-induced hyperactivity and cavities are the things you fear most about Halloween, then you are no doubt anxious to find a few slightly more healthful alternatives to traditional treats. We’ve gathered a number of Halloween staples, and we contrast them with treats that a bit better on the bod.
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Sour Patch Kids

Children and adults alike love the pucker-inducing punch of Sour Patch Kids, and it does contain a bit of Vitamin C, but that’s about it for the healthy stuff. Sugar, corn syrup and corn starch are the first three ingredients listed on a package of the sour sweets. If you’re buying in bulk for a flood of trick-or-treaters to your door, but would rather have a healthful option, move on to the next slide.
Price: $12 for a 30.6-ounce bag of treat-sized packs.
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Natural Fruit Snacks

Instead of sugary Sour Patch Kids, you can opt for healthier fruit snacks made of real fruit juice and puree with added vitamins and minerals. Florida's Natural Fruit Juice Nuggets have just that, in little pieces that taste like real fruit, with a slight bit of natural tartness.
Price: $38.90 for a pack of 12 4.8-ounce cartons.
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Snickers

Snickers are an old favorite for trick-or-treaters, but they might just be among the least healthy Halloween candies, especially if your child is loading up on them late on Halloween night.
While the peanuts provide some protein and fiber, just one fun-sized Snickers bar contains 3.7 grams of fat and seven grams of sugar. But if you opt for a healthier chocolate bar, it may mean you can eat more before doing the same amount of damage.
Price: $32.29 for 90 fun size bars.
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Three Musketeers

One fun-sized Snickers bar has the same amount of fat as two fun-sized 3 Musketeers bars. And the lighter favorite boasts being significantly lower in fat than most leading candy bars.
Price: $4.09 for a 21-count package.
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Lollipops

Saf-T-Pops are the classic lollipop made to be safe for toddlers. But exposing their young teeth, or anyone’s teeth for that matter, to too much sugar can be bad.
While they’re even safe for people allergic to milk, nuts or gluten, these lollies contain mostly sugar and corn syrup.
Price: $4.46 for a 60-count box.
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Sugar-Free Lollipops

As an alternative, Sorbee makes sugar-free lollipops, and their tastiness might surprise you. They’re made with sucralose, a sweetner that’s derived from sugar but doesn’t contain sugar, unlike the fake sweet candies from decades past. What’s more, one of these suckers contains 50% fewer calories that a regular lollipop made with sugar. Or if you’d prefer to stick to an old favorite, Saf-t-Pop maker Spangler Candy also makes sugar-free lollipops.
Price: $29.85 for a bag of about 250.
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Bubble Gum

Gum balls are also an old favorite, whether they’re individually wrapped or right out of a machine. Jelly bean maker Jelly Belly, made popular for the company’s ability to capture big flavors in tiny bites, also makes gumballs. They come in tangerine, watermelon, blueberry, juicy pear & very cherry flavors. They also tend to be packed with sugar and artificial colors and flavors.
Price: $5 for a one-pound bag.
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Sugar-free gum

Gum can find its way into tiny crevices in teeth, depositing sugar that could lead to tooth decay. But instead of being that house in the neighborhood that gives out toothbrushes or loose change, you might opt for sugar-free gum instead. And with better-tasting sweeteners like xylitol and Splenda these days, sugar-free gum actually tastes pretty good.
Price: $10.88 for a one-pound carton of sugar-free gum balls.
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Milk chocolate

There are tons of chocolates to choose from when picking Halloween candy to give out this year. But while milk chocolate might be creamier and appeal more to kids, there may be more fat, and there's definitely less of the good stuff in their since it's not as dense with cocoa solids.
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Dark Chocolate

There are significant health benefits to opting for dark chocolate. Dark chocolate, particularly when not consumed with a glass of milk actually, helps lower adults’ blood pressure, according to WebMD, so you don’t have to feel bad about diving into your kid’s Halloween candy if there’s dark chocolate in there.
And after sugar-driven Halloween madness, your blood pressure may need to be lowered a bit anyway. Dark chocolate also contains immune boosting antioxidants that should make you feel good, if you can overlook the calories.
Plus, kids these days have more refined palates than they did years ago, so they might actually like it now.
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